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Comment by swader999 | Hacker News Reader

I like this article a lot and have had great success with this tactic (as a hiring manager) over the years. I often give a page or two of code as a take home assignment to discuss at the interview. They get a chance to look at it and research it on their own. And they also get a bit of the crucible of face to face thinking and reacting on their feet while you discuss it with them in the interview.

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In the year 2023 tech companies are not "buying" (supply > demand) but "selling" (supply < demand); that means the hiring process should at least be equal in terms of time spent on it. Candidates spend way more time in home assignments (hours to days), while companies spend in the order of minutes to review the assigments. We think this is "normal" because "the company is OFFERING you a job"... that couldn't be less true nowadays, it is "me the one CONSIDERING working for your company". A big difference.

That's not my perception of the industry right now. I think what you said was true two years ago, but not any more.

Well in my case, this code review was only two pages and it was only given to people who accepted an interview. So you had about a fifty percent chance of landing the job. Contrast this to the leet code dedication of a couple of years on the side effort...

Considering all the layoffs, the closed positions, and job listings suddenly skewing heavily towards "staff" engineers, we are in a buyers' market (ie. the employers have all the leverage right now).

why opting for an "home assignment" instead of doing that as part of the interview?

Possibly because many quality candidates work / think better when not being watched. It is also likely far more natural for most people.

Better simulates the conditions of the job. I never have to write code on-demand in front of my boss with my job on the line. I get assignments and I do them asynchronously. Less pressure that way and I can do it right.

In my experience, most candidates prefer it. They get to use their own computer and own environment and nobody is pressuring them while they code.

It’s also most similar to the job, where I won’t be standing over their shoulder doing live coding.

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